Similar to how the FCC tests and approves cellular devices in the U.S., China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology certifies handsets for sale in China. The MIIT has approved the iPhones for domestic frequencies but hasn’t yet provided Apple with a “critical network access license,” so there’s still one hurdle left before Apple or carriers can sell the iPhone 6 in China.

The situation is a bit of a black eye for [company]Apple[/company], even if it’s outside of Cupertino’s control. Last year, the iPhone 5s was available in China the same day it was available in the U.S. And with its massive population, China is a key growth market for Apple as it now has handsets with larger screens to combat the sales of “phablets,” which are popular in Asia.

Will the delay in China hurt overall iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sales? It’s not likely; I wouldn’t expect consumers in China to suddenly stop waiting for the new iPhones and buy a large Android phone instead at this point. It’s more of a sign that, despite all of its control and influence, not even Apple can make magic happen overnight.

2 Responses to “Apple still faces one more hurdle to selling iPhone 6 in China”

Could the lack of approval be based on the fact that Apple can not grant access to to iOS 8? Per Cook “So it’s not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their (iOS 8 users) possession running iOS 8,” I’m sure this is not part of China’s program.